BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — A three-mile stretch of the King Coal Highway in southern West Virginia is officially open.
Gov. Jim Justice held a ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday for the grand opening of the highway’s section which spans from Airport Road to John Nash Boulevard near Bluefield. The highway connects Airport Road to the previously constructed Christine Elmore West Bridge, and the bridge to the intersection of John Nash Boulevard and US 460.
The section of the highway was approximately a $68 million project. It’s the first area of the King Coal Highway to be funded through Gov. Justice’s $2.8 billion Roads to Prosperity program. Kanawha Stone Company Inc. was awarded the contract for the project in October 2018.
The bridge has commonly been referred to as the “Bridge to Nowhere.”
“This is no longer the bridge to nowhere; it is finally a bridge to economic prosperity,” Gov. Justice said. “Every last one of us pulled the rope together to get this project across the finish line. This one has been in the works for so many years, and it took a team with the right vision to get it done. We all worked together to turn this into a reality, and it’s another sign of progress in West Virginia. I have no doubt this is just the beginning.”
Today marks a historic milestone as we cut the ribbon on a major 3-mile stretch of the King Coal Highway in Bluefield – a $68M project! https://t.co/8B0iOPIXrF
— Governor Jim Justice (@WVGovernor) December 14, 2023
The King Coal Highway is a four-lane highway approximately 95 miles long. It runs through McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Wyoming, and Wayne counties along US 52 from US 119 near Williamson to Interstate 77 in Bluefield.
King Coal Highway has been a work-in-progress since the 1990s. More funding was brought in for the project in 2018 to continue its construction after it was halted.
“This project doesn’t happen without Governor Justice and his Roads to Prosperity program,” Secretary of Transportation Jimmy Wriston, P.E., said. “This bridge sat here for years without, but here we are, cutting a ribbon to celebrate its opening. The Roads to Prosperity program has truly saved the state, and it has turned around the Department of Transportation. I thank Governor Justice for his leadership. Because of him, West Virginia is set to prosper for years to come.”
Gov. Justice said the King Coal Highway is one of three roads that were top priorities for him and his administration to have work on. The two others are the Coalfields Expressway and Appalachian Corridor H.
“Those highways bring the southern part of the state into being in a lot of ways,” Gov. Justice said. “Those highways bridge southern West Virginia to the world.”
In July 2023, Triton Construction Inc. was awarded a contract for nearly $92 million to extend the existing four-lane highway for about 1.5 miles from Mountain View to the town of Gilbert along Gilbert Creek. That project is also funded through Roads to Prosperity.
Projects to extend the King Coal Highway from Littlesburg to the Mercer County Airport and from Montcalm to Littlesburg are currently in the planning stage. The two projects combined cost approximately $200 million.